- Allianz Commercial found that the average business interruption insurance claim exceeds €850K, approximately 70% higher than the average property damage claim of nearly €500K.
- The analysis covers 7,888 business interruption claims totaling €6.74 bn between 2021 and 2025, with average claim values rising more than 30% annually over the past two years.
- Fire and explosion account for more than 40% of business interruption losses, while natural catastrophes represent another 34%. Together, they generate over 75% of total claims value.
Allianz Commercial reports that the average business interruption insurance claim now exceeds €850K, approximately 70% higher than the average property damage claim of nearly €500K, as businesses face increasing financial exposure from supply chain disruptions, concentrated production and growing technology dependencies.
The insurer’s latest analysis examines 7,888 business interruption claims recorded between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2025, representing approximately €6.74 bn in total losses.
Although the frequency of claims has remained relatively stable, average claim values have increased by more than 30% annually over the past two years. The findings indicate that the financial impact of interrupted operations can substantially exceed the physical damage responsible for the disruption.
Allianz identifies concentrated manufacturing operations, vulnerable supply chains, geopolitical tensions, inflation and increasing reliance on technology as factors contributing to higher business interruption exposures.
Business interruption and supply chain risk remains elevated and volatile. The operating environment is challenging with geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, cyber-related incidents, and growing dependency on technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).
Thomas Lillelund, CEO of Allianz Commercial
“The scale of physical damage alone no longer determines the ultimate cost of a business interruption. Even a relatively contained incident can have consequences across production networks, customers and markets. Businesses therefore need to identify and better understand not only their own critical assets, but also those of the suppliers, technologies and infrastructure on which their operations depend,” said Thomas Lillelund.
Fire and explosion remain the largest sources of business interruption insurance losses, accounting for more than 40% of the total claims value analyzed, equivalent to approximately €2.9 bn.
Fire was responsible for nine of the 10 most expensive man-made business interruption events in the dataset. It was also the costliest cause of loss in several major insurance markets, including Germany, Singapore, the UK and the US.
One claim examined by Allianz demonstrates how operational disruption can generate losses far exceeding the original property damage. A fire at a small manufacturing facility caused relatively limited physical damage but severely interrupted downstream operations, ultimately producing a nine-figure business interruption loss across the wider corporate group.
Natural catastrophes ranked second by total claims value, accounting for 34% of losses analyzed. They were also the most frequent cause of business interruption claims, representing 26% of all incidents in the dataset.
Combined, fire and explosion and natural catastrophes generated more than 75% of the total value of business interruption insurance claims examined by Allianz Commercial.
